


Neighbors

by Smowkie



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Deputy Stiles Stilinski, M/M, Neighbors, POV Stiles, Single Parent Derek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-26
Updated: 2017-07-26
Packaged: 2018-12-07 07:23:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11618766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smowkie/pseuds/Smowkie
Summary: No matter what scenarios he could have come up with, seeing Derek Hale, his super handsome and single dad neighbor, looking slightly panicked with his hand still raised to knock was not what he expected.Deputy Stiles and Single Dad Derek.





	Neighbors

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ellsaba (vanillawg)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/vanillawg/gifts).



> For the lovely Fen, because it's her birthday! I hope you like it ♥
> 
> SUPER THANK YOU to [Jessie](http://archiveofourown.org/users/rieraclaelin/pseuds/rieraclaelin) for helping me with this, and to my friend M, who's not in the fandom and doesn't have an ao3 account, for helping me come up with the idea. ♥

Stiles had just finished his very late dinner when someone knocked on the door. He looked at the watch and wondered who would visit him at almost 9 p.m. on a wednesday, but when the knocking resumed and got almost frantic he felt himself go into deputy mode as he quickly walked to the door and opened it. No matter what scenarios he could have come up with, seeing Derek Hale, his super handsome and single dad neighbor, looking slightly panicked with his hand still raised to knock was not what he expected. 

“Hi, I’m sorry,” Derek started, his eyes flicking between his own open apartment door and Stiles, “the hospital called, my sister has been in an accident, I don’t know, they say she’s okay, that it’s nothing serious, but she needs x-rays and I don’t _know_ , I need to go there.” He was barely breathing as he spoke and Stiles felt himself lift his hands placatingly. 

“Hey, hey, it’s okay, Derek, what do you need?”

“Emma, she’s sleeping, I have to go and she’s finally sleeping and I don’t want to take her to the hospital, with the stress and noises and I know you’re a deputy and I know Sheriff Stilinski a little, and I know we don’t really know each other but I don’t know what to do.”

“Oh, your baby?” Stiles perked up, because _baby_. “You want me to watch her for you?”

“Could you?” Derek asked and Stiles nodded and grabbed his keys before stepping outside to close and lock his door. 

“Yes, of course, yes,” he said and gently herded Derek towards his own apartment. “Are you okay to drive? I can call dispatch? Or a cab?”

“No, I’m okay, I just need to go and I can’t leave her alone,” Derek said as he walked up to a stroller and gently moved the blanket a little and Stiles smiled stupidly at the adorable little bundle of baby that was sleeping soundly there. 

“It’s okay,” Stiles said and looked at Derek, who looked like he was well on his way to vibrate out of his skin. “It’s okay,” he repeated more firmly. “Go, I’ll take care of her, go.”

Derek breathed a huge sigh before he nodded and started to pat his pockets as he walked towards the door. “Thank you Stiles, thank you, you’re a life savior, thank you.” He was almost at the door when Stiles stopped him. 

“Wait, wait, food? When does she eat?” he asked and Derek stopped and looked at him with huge eyes before he closed his eyes, obviously thinking. 

“Ten thirty,” he said after a second and walked to the kitchen. “Here, it has her times and amounts, the formula is here, everyth-”

“It’s okay,” Stiles interrupted, “I’ve got it, it’s all here, I’ll figure it out.” He saw a post it pad and quickly wrote his phone number down and held it out to Derek. “My number, call me, I’ll make sure she’s okay.” He herded Derek back to the door, and Derek turned around as he put a hand on the door knob. 

“Thank you so much, I’ll call as soon as I know more, thank you,” he said. 

“It’s okay, drive safe and take care of your sister,” Stiles said and smiled reassuringly. “Me and Emma will be fine here.”

“Okay, thank you,” Derek repeated and then he was gone. 

Stiles sat down on the couch, from where he could see the stroller and Emma, then he got his phone out to text his dad. He told him what had happened and sent a picture of the sleeping baby, and then he spent most of the next hour looking at her as he cooed via text with his dad, until his phone rang with an unknown number.

“Stiles speaking,” he answered. 

“Hi, it’s Derek, your neighbor, Emma’s dad,” Derek introduced himself and Stiles couldn’t help but smile. 

“Hi, how’s it going? How is your sister?” he asked. 

Derek breathed out and sounded calmer when he spoke again. “She’s okay, she has a broken arm, but she’s okay,” he said. 

“That’s good,” Stiles said. 

“How is Emma?” Derek’s voice got some of the stress back as he asked. “It will take a while longer here, is she okay? I could probably come-”

“She’s fine, Derek, it’s okay,” Stiles interrupted. “She’s sleeping and she’s fine, it’s okay, stay with your sister, I’ll take care of her.”

Derek breathed a deep sigh. “Thank you,” he said. 

Stiles reassured him a little more before they hung up, then he added Derek’s number to his phone. He took a picture of Emma that he sent to Derek before going to the kitchen to look through the lists and instructions for her food, it wasn’t as complicated as he had feared, so by ten thirty he had her bottle ready. She was _so small_ though, and when he picked her up he had a moment of severe self doubt, because wow, tiny and fragile human.

As he cradled her to his chest she woke up and immediately started to cry, so he tried giving her the bottle, but she refused to take it. He walked around with her, bouncing her gently as he talked softly to her, but she just kept crying and his heart broke for her, being so upset and not being able to tell why. He cooed at her and held her close, and after a while he saw there was a hoodie thrown over the back of the arm chair, so he grabbed it and awkwardly wrapped it around her, and she immediately calmed down.

“There you go, baby girl,” he said softly and sat down before trying the bottle again. She took it and started to eat almost immediately, and he sat there, sniffing her dark dusting of hair and enjoying that wonderful baby smell, as she ate. When she was done he got back up on his feet and held her up to his shoulder so she could burp. It was well past 11 p.m. when she was sleeping in her stroller again with a clean diaper on and the hoodie draped over the side with one of its arms tucked in next to her, but he thought he did okay, considering.

At 11:40 p.m. he got a text from Derek, just saying they were on their way home, and when the door opened ten minutes later Derek let a woman in before him and then he immediately walked up to the stroller.

“Hey baby,” he said softly and ran a gentle finger over her cheek and Stiles melted a little at the sight. Derek turned to Stiles after though. “Did everything go okay? I’m so sorry it took so long, thank you so much for staying, did she eat?” he said in a rush and Stiles lifted his hands again and smiled reassuringly at him.

“It went great, she’s an awesome little baby,” he said. “She missed her dad though, but when I got her the hoodie she calmed down.”

Derek’s eyes lit up a little at that for a moment before they just looked tired.

“That’s more because my scent is familiar, no that she misses me,” he said quietly.

“That’s because she’s only a month old, Derek” the woman said and came over to them. “Hi, I’m Laura,” she said and held out a hand for Stiles that he shook with a smile.

“Hi, you must be the sister,” he said. “I’m Stiles, I live next door. How are you?”

She held out her left arm that was covered in a bright pink cast.

“Eh, I’ve been better, but I’m okay,” she said. “Just a broken arm and some bruises. Thanks for helping Derek with Emma, it meant a lot to me that he could be there with me. It’s apparently stressful being in car crashes, who knew?”

“Who knew?” Stiles agreed with a grin. “And anytime, I’m glad you’re okay,” he added before he looked at Derek who was hovering over the stroller, looking at his baby girl as she slept. “I should get going so you can settle in, you must be exhausted.”

Derek looked at him. “Thank you again,” he started and Stiles raised a hand to stop him.

“It’s fine, it was no trouble at all, I’m glad I could help.” He continued with telling Derek the amount Emma had eaten at what time, what time he had changed her diaper, what was _in_ the diaper, and Derek nodded seriously through it all, even as Laura snorted when he described her poop.

“It seems deputy neighbor did a good job with looking after the little treasure,” Laura said when Stiles was done and he beamed a little at her. 

“Yeah,” Derek said, and he both looked and sounded exhausted, but he looked sincere as he spoke, “I can’t thank you enough.”

“Honestly, it was no problem, my plans for the night was to sit on my ass and relax and I got to do that, with the added adorable baby.” Stiles smiled down at Emma and carefully stroked a finger over her soft cheek. “Daddy’s home now, with your aunt, so I’m gonna head home,” he told her, even though she was sleeping. “We’ll hang out again soon I hope.” He smiled up at Derek. “I’m gonna leave you to it. I work odd hours, but don’t hesitate to ask if you ever need a babysitter.”

“Thank you again,” Derek said and Stiles nodded. 

“Anytime,” he said before turning to Laura. “Take care of yourself, and make sure he gets some sleep soon.”

“I will, thanks.” She surprised him by hugging him, but he hugged back. “I’ll see you around.”

He went home with a smile on his face that stayed in place long after he fell asleep. 

The next day Derek knocked on the door again, and when Stiles opened he held out a bouquet of flowers. 

“Thank you,” he said and Stiles grinned as he took them. 

“Wow, you are just the sweetest,” he said. “Thank you.”

“Do you want to join me and Laura for dinner tonight? I don’t know how to thank you properly, but food is usually appreciated.”

Stiles hesitated a moment. “I wouldn’t want to intrude on your sibling time,” he said carefully, but Derek shook his head. 

“You won’t,” he said, “she’ll be staying with me a couple of weeks now and she’s moving back here next month.”

“In that case, I’d love to.” Stiles smiled at Derek’s relieved look.

A few hours later they were sitting at the dining table in Derek’s apartment with Emma sleeping soundly in her stroller close to Derek. Conversations went easy, though Laura and Stiles did most of the talking. Derek didn’t seem shy really, more careful when choosing what to say, but when asked about Emma he talked easy about her. Stiles asked a lot about Emma.

“Where’s her mom?” Stiles heard himself ask halfway through dinner and when Derek’s expression went stony he wished he could take it back.

“Who the fuck knows,” Laura muttered darkly. 

“Sorry, that’s none of my business,” Stiles said. 

“No, it’s okay,” Derek said and shook his head a little as he closed his eyes for a moment before smiling stiffly at Stiles. “We hadn’t been together for very long, just a few months, when she just up and left. Eight months later I got a call from a hospital, telling me I had a daughter there. Jennifer had listed me as the father and then left the hospital, and Emma, as soon as she could.”

Stiles gaped at him a few seconds. “Wow,” he said and both Derek and Laura nodded. 

“She is mine though, we tested to be sure, and now Laura is helping me get full custody,” Derek said. 

“Yeah, we don’t really trust Jennifer with Emma,” Laura said and Stiles nodded. 

“Wisely,” he said and looked at Emma where she was sleeping soundly while her father was looking at her with soft eyes as he trailed light fingers through her thin hair. “How could she just _leave_ her, wow, that’s… yeah, wow,” Stiles added. 

“I know,” Derek said quietly. “From the moment I saw her all I’ve wanted has been to protect her, take care of her.”

Stiles kind of felt exactly the same, but it felt a bit too forward to say that so he just nodded. “Yeah.”

“So, a deputy, working under the sheriff who happens to be your father too,” Laura said. “How is that?”

Stiles grinned at her and went with the subject change, thankful for her for steering the conversation to easier things. 

“It’s surprisingly great actually,” he said. 

Laura was _awesome_. She was nice, funny and super easy to talk to, and she seemed to like Stiles a lot, because after that he rarely had a day off that he didn’t spend with the Hales, even when she went back to New York and then moved into an apartment of her own a few streets away from their. Derek was more closed off, but he was still just as nice and just as funny, and Stiles quickly felt himself falling head over heels for the guy. He didn’t try to hit on him though, he was a new father that had just moved back to his hometown, and he was obviously still having some trust issues. Stiles had learned that Emma’s mom wasn’t the first of Derek’s exes that had been bad, Laura occasionally muttered angrily about it, but Stiles worked hard not to ask, despite his curiosity. He did make sure to compliment Derek though, without making it flirty, just casual statements every now and then. 

When Derek came back from a meeting at the bank and Stiles had helped Laura with watching Emma, “Look Emma, it’s your handsome daddy.”

“Shut up, Stiles.”

“Look Emma, it’s your grumpy daddy.”

When Laura one time expressed frustration about the difficulties it would be for her to meet someone in little Beacon Hills, “Anyone would be lucky to have either of you, you’ll sweep some lucky bastard off their feet in no time if you want to.”

“Hey, speaking off, did you say that deputy was single?”

“Parrish, yeah, be gentle with him though, Laura, he’s much softer than he looks. Or. Well, look him in the eyes and he’s exactly as soft as he looks, but people tend to forget that with him. He’s a good guy.”

That one time he found Derek with tears in his eyes begging his teething daughter to fall asleep, “Do you want me to take her so you can get some rest?”

“I can’t do this, Stiles.”

“Shut up, Derek, you’re doing an amazing job, you’re a great dad. You are allowed to ask for help though, and I’m right here, go get some rest.”

He never mentioned his feelings to either Derek or Laura, but he was pretty sure at least Laura knew. She kept looking at him when he and Derek spoke, and her smile was a little too knowing, but as long as she wasn’t mean about it he didn’t really mind. He even considered talking to her about it a couple of times, but decided against it. He enjoyed being their friend, and he was fairly transparent, so he hoped Derek would say something if he ever wanted something.

When Emma had her six months birthday Stiles joined Derek and her to the park. He played with her a lot, took her on the slides and on the swings, before they had a messy picnic in the shadow of a tree. After they had used a lot of wet wipes Emma napped in her stroller while Stiles and Derek talked quietly, then they played some more before going home. Laura and the Sheriff both came over with gifts, Laura because she used every opportunity she could to spoil her niece, and John because he fell in love with Emma after meeting her once and now took every chance he had to meet her, and Derek made them all food and they had a little birthday party. 

“You’re spoiling her rotten,” Derek muttered as John had a grinning Emma in his lap and Laura was showing her a new toy, but Stiles saw the smile he tried to hide as he returned to the kitchen, and he joined him. 

“I think I lost the monopoly I had on my dad,” Stiles said and winked when Derek looked at him. “I don’t mind though, I’m glad to share with you guys.”

Derek didn’t say anything, just smiled another soft smile that he tried to hide by ducking his head as he pretended to be busy making dinner. Stiles helped set the table and when the food was done John sat down with Emma still in his lap. 

“You eat, I’ll hold her a while,” he said and Stiles grinned at him. 

“Such a sacrifice for you, dad, how kind of you,” he said and winked obnoxiously. 

“Shut up,” his dad said, but he was grinning as he gently bounced Emma while slowly picking at his quickly cooling food. After a short while he looked at Derek and frowned. “Slow down, son, I’ve got her,” he said and Derek swallowed roughly as he looked at him with huge eyes.

“Thanks,” he mumbled as he looked back down at his food, but he did slow down, so Stiles smiled and asked Laura about her date with Parrish. 

Stiles stayed and helped clean up, and when John and Laura had left and Emma was sleeping soundly he smiled at Derek. 

“I should head home too,” he said and Derek nodded minutely before looking at Stiles. He looked unsure, and Stiles tilted his head in question. 

“Thank you for today, for all your help,” he said.

“I was my pleasure, I had a lot of fun,” Stiles said and Derek nodded and looked a little like he was steeling himself. 

“With the risk of sounding like a middle schooler, which is what I feel like,” he started, then he swallowed and looked down at the floor before looking up at Stiles with a nervous smile. “Laura tells me that you like me, and that since I like you too I should ask you on a date, so, maybe, if you want to, I could thank you by taking you out to dinner?” He swallowed. “On a date?”

Stiles felt his mouth fall open for a moment before he managed to pull himself together and respond. “Yes, of course, oh my god, yes, I would love that,” he said and smiled hugely, and the returning smile he got from Derek was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. 


End file.
